Story No 1 - The Ritz - Winning back my darling Edith (A bedith Story)
by Sydney100
Summary: New Chapter! An expansion and continuation of the conversation between Edith and Bertie at the Ritz from 6x09 told mostly from Bertie's POV. New Chapter includes Bertie walking Edith home after dinner :)
1. Chapter 1 - Winning her over

Chapter 1

It had only been a few minutes since his arrival at the Ritz, but Bertie felt like he had been waiting there for hours. This evening was either going to make his life complete or make him feel he'd ruined his own happiness forever.

It had been six weeks since he'd left Downton Abbey and his Edith behind. A move he regretted almost immediately, and every moment since that day. But he had had Tangiers to manage and by the time he got back, he lived in fear that he had ruined any hope of a relationship he might have with Edith.

He was wallowing in despair and dreaming of ways to win Edith back when he'd received a phone call from Mary Talbot.

"Hello Lord Hexham, this is Mary Talbot calling".

Bertie was surprised to receive a phone call from Lady Mary – he immediately began to speculate as to the purpose of her call, all possibilities scaring the life out of him. His first thought was that something bad had happened to Edith, the very idea of which made his heart jump into his throat with fear. The next thought was that Mary was calling to gloat about something, since she had clearly intended to hurt Edith that day at breakfast. He wasn't sure she was quite that unkind though to further throw salt in the wound. What would she gloat about? That she had triumphed over her sister? Or, perhaps she and Edith had made amends and she was telephoning to tell him that Edith had moved on with someone new – and she was reminding him what a colossal fool he had been to leave her at all. There would be no need for that though, he needed no help realizing what a fool he was. He knew this wasn't going to be a plea of any kind because if Edith wanted a reunion she was courageous enough to do it herself. A million other possibilities passed in his mind, before he finally responded:

"Good afternoon, Lady Mary. Please feel free to continue to call me Bertie"

"Right, Bertie. I'll get straight to it. I've devised a plan that I think should suit you quite nicely. I'm not convinced that things are truly over between you and my sister. Nor is my aunt Rosamund. And since I feel at least partially responsible for your split, I've come up with a plan"

"I should start by saying that Edith does not know this plan nor that I am telephoning you." She took a breath "Right, with that being said – here is the plan: I will book a table for two at the Ritz. Aunt Rosamund will invite Edith to dine with her at the Ritz and will accompany Edith to the restaurant under the pretense that it will be them two on the reservation. IF you wish to rekindle your relationship with Edith, I suggest you come to this dinner. Perhaps you should be there at the table waiting for her. If, instead, you choose that this chapter if your life is truly closed, and you really are finished then simply don't show up. Aunt Rosamund will dine with Edith directly and Edith will be none the wiser. She will simply spend the evening with our aunt and will never know that we spoke or that I invited you to attend."

Bertie didn't have to think. He was acutely aware of how miserable he had been over the last six weeks. He immediately cut in to the conversation "I will come. I'll be there at the Ritz. What time is the reservation?"

Lady Mary seemed taken aback. "Uh – You need not decide right now. Hence the brilliance of the plan, you see. It gives you time to decide-"

"I'll be there. Tell me when."

Mary waited a moment. "Very well then. I'll let Aunt Rosamund know that you plan to attend. I should warn you Bertie – I don't think Edith would agree to this plan if she knew it. She seemed quite resigned to putting things behind her, moving forward and starting anew. She might be difficult to persuade…. Right! Good luck Bertie!" And she immediately hung up without waiting for a reply.

And so here he was, two days later, having arrived early for the 8pm reservation, waiting nervously for Lady Edith Crawley to arrive with her aunt.

While Bertie waited, he rehearsed in his mind how he would phrase his plea for her to accept him back. He had a whole plan about asking her to give him another chance, he'd practiced the line so many times, he hoped he'd perfected its persuasive power.

As every passing minute dragged on, Bertie feared she wasn't coming. Somehow Edith had caught wind of the plan and she was too angry with him to attend this dinner. But just as his mind began to fear the worst, she walked in with Rosamund towing behind her. Bertie was taken aback – she looked even more radiant than he had remembered. He was acutely reminded of what was at stake at this dinner and became even more nervous. She was approaching the table but was turned backward talking to her aunt and had not yet spotted him, until finally she saw him and stopped dead in her tracks.

"What on earth! How did you know I would be here?"

Bertie wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't want to give Rosamund or Mary away, but Edith must have caught him looking at Rosamund because she immediately turned to her aunt and said in a desperate, barely audible fashion: "Are you leaving?"

"I certainly am. Goodnight darling. I'll telephone in the morning"

Edith looked very nervous. This made Bertie feel even worse. All he wanted to do was jump up and engulf her in his arms and whisper apologies and sweet nothings in her ear. But they weren't quite there yet. As she sat down, he smiled at her and got ready to start in on his well-rehearsed speech, but she spoke first.

"Is this all a set up? Someone tipped you off that I was in London. Was it papa?"

Bertie didn't want to discuss the plan. It didn't matter how they both got here, they were here together now and he was so eager to get started on his mission. "It was Mary"

"Mary! How? What did she do?"

"She booked the table and got your aunt to play along. They thought you might not come if it were me."

"They were right, there." Edith said, rather curtly. This surprised Bertie, and he felt a new wave of shame over how terribly he'd behaved the last time they spoke.

"Will you stay now?" Bertie asked. He needed her to be willing to at least have a conversation or this was going to go terribly awry, very quickly. "Please."

She said nothing. But didn't make any move to get up. The waiter took advantage of the opportunity to stop in: "May I bring you a menu, my Lord, and perhaps a drink?"

Bertie kept his eyes firmly on Edith. If she was planning on leaving, she would be doing it now, he thought, but she hadn't. So he took the liberty of ordering her a drink. "Thank you yes, we'll have menus and two glasses of champagne."

Bertie continued to look directly at Edith. He wanted to start in on his speech but he wasn't sure where her heart was and didn't want to rush her. He'd rushed her once before, with disastrous results.

Edith took her napkin and spoke firmly and resolutely "Bertie, I don't know what I'm doing here. You broke my heart".

Bertie hated hearing that. But he knew he deserved it.

"I'm not blaming you, exactly, I know why you felt you had to-"

Bertie couldn't take it. He blurted out: "I want you back."

Well, so much for that rehearsed eloquent speech he'd spent so much time perfecting

Edith looked a little taken aback but, not yet happy "Nothing's changed…"

"I've changed!" Bertie pleaded.

"Well if you have, you haven't said a word to me about it! I don't believe you would have spoken now, if Mary hadn't telephoned!"

Bertie deserved that too, he knew. From the moment Mary telephoned him with the plan, he knew that Edith would see the fact that he wasn't the orchestrator of this reunion as a weakness in his resolve. He chastised himself for not acting up sooner. He ought to have fought for Edith as soon as he realized his mistake of leaving her. But he was a coward. And he had never hated himself more than he did in this particular moment.

All he could muster up to respond was "I would have, I promise!"

"What's different? I still have Marigold. You have your mother..."

"I've never told her we'd split up.." He had hoped that this little confession would be taken by Edith to show that he wasn't ready or willing to let go of Edith yet and their story wasn't over. But that was not how she responded.

"But we have!"

Bertie began to feel helpless. He wasn't doing well. He started to fear that he might fail at this dinner. That very real possibility made him feel overcome with despair. He had no idea what he could say to persuade her that he loved her dearly. He missed her all the time. And he'd never been so miserable as he had been during the last six weeks.

"... W-Would you believe me if I told you I couldn't live without you?"

Edith immediately seemed dubious. "You've done a pretty good job of living without me lately!"

"I've done a very _bad_ job". And with that response, Bertie felt his voice catch as his desperation to persuade Edith of his love for her hit the breaking point.

Bertie used the waiter's interruption with their drinks and menus to pull himself together. If he was going to convince Edith that she should share her life with him, he was going to have to do a better job of being worthy of her. Bertie was grateful too, because it seemed that Edith was starting to soften, at last. Perhaps the potential of having seen a grown man sob in a restaurant did the trick, Bertie wasn't sure.

"I don't understand what you want of me. What are you asking?"

Bertie told her the truth, the full, plain truth. "I want you to marry me" He smiled at her.

Edith looked touched, but still unsure of herself, and of the situation "Just like that?"

Bertie smiled at her, he dared to hope that maybe he was finally making a little headway "Whenever you choose, but... that's what I want."

Edith took a moment to think. "If I agreed…. Which is a BIG "if"…. Would we tell your mother the truth about Marigold?"

A fair question. She was clearly concerned about what living with Bertie would entail. Would it be a life of secrecy? Would she have to conceal her daughter even in her own home? Bertie wanted to have an easier answer for her, but he knew the situation was too complicated and nothing he said would be a true panacea for this concern.

"Let me put it this way, if we tell her, we'll have to break with her. I'd prefer not to do that".

Edith, for her part – couldn't help but feel a glimmer of excitement at Bertie's use of the word "we". She loved the idea of the two of them being a pair again. But she wasn't ready to jump back in. Not just yet.

"Even without your mother. There are people out there who know the truth. There could be gossip. Are you ready for it?"

"I hope to avoid it, but I'm ready if we can't" He laughed. She seemed to be processing it. Bertie chose his next moment very wisely.

"The _only_ thing I'm not ready for – is a life without you".

Bertie stared at Edith intently. She seemed genuinely touched by his last comment, as he could see the emotion on her face. He desperately hoped he was making headway in persuading her to take him back, but she seemed to still be hesitating.

"Edith, you still have a trepidation. Please tell me what it is, and I will do everything I can to assuage your fears"

Edith hesitated. Bertie was quite worried. She seemed almost on the verge of tears and she couldn't quite meet his eye for longer than a moment. He had no idea if she was upset, or nervous or genuinely sad.

"Bertie… Last time we spoke. You said you didn't feel you could trust me…"

Realization set in for Bertie, he may have felt a little betrayed that she didn't trust him enough to tell him about her daughter. But in the process, he had hurt her. Badly.

"Right." Bertie looked down at his plate for a moment. "And for that, Edith… I'd like to beg your forgiveness."

She couldn't have looked more shocked at his last statement. She was clearly anticipating that bringing up trust was going to take this conversation in a vastly different direction.

Bertie continued "Edith, I believe you would have told me about Marigold. I do. When I left you, I replayed all of our last conversations over and over in my head. Several… HUNDRED times over, if I am being honest" he let out a chuckle. He stole a glance at Edith, she was not yet relaxed enough to laugh with him, so he continued on.

"I realized that you had been working up to telling me. It was there in so many of our conversations, your repeated remarks that you weren't sure you were _worthy_ , the fact that Marigold was the first thing you brought up after I proposed. You asked for time, and I said I would give it to you, but I forced you into an answer to my proposal before I left for Tangiers, and that wasn't fair of me." Edith looked quite verklempt, but Bertie was far from finished.

"Had I waited, I believe you would have told me about Marigold. What's more – your timeline for working up to telling me was interfered with by …" Bertie struggled not to throw Mary under the bus, "… by an _outside_ influence."

Edith started to speak although it was evident she was fighting back tears "Bertie, I'm so sorr-"

He cut her off. "No. I must be the one to apologize. It must have felt awful what happened at breakfast that day. I have thought about it a lot since then. You must have hesitated to tell me for fear I might react badly, and that's exactly what I did. For which I am so ashamed. Mary's forcing you to tell me about Marigold like that. Well… that was a test of _my_ honour, and I betrayed your trust."

Bertie paused for a moment. "You should have told me about Marigold sooner. That's true. And I was hurt that you didn't. But I let my emotions cloud my judgment, which led to me making a terrible mistake when I left you. One I've sorely regretted every single moment since. One I am trying to rectify now."

Bertie hadn't taken his eyes off Edith the entire time he spoke. She looked quite emotional and he desperately hoped she was softening toward letting him back in her life.

"I love you, Edith. And I think you love me too. I realize now that when I asked you to marry me in your aunt's drawing room and you asked for time… that was most likely in part influenced by Marigold"

It was then that Edith interrupted, while shaking her head "No, it was _entirely_ influenced by her. I love you too, Bertie. _So_ much. I would have accepted you the _instant_ you asked me had it not been for my daughter".

Bertie smiled. It made his heart triumph with glee to hear her finally say the words. She loved him too.

"And I am sorry for not telling you sooner, I really am."

Bertie just shook his head lightly. He hated that he had been the one to cause this consternation. So he powered on. He looked her in the eyes, and let the love and admiration he'd been dampening for the last 6 weeks pour through his gaze and into his words. "I only met her briefly on my two visits, but she seems like a wonderful little girl. I only hope I'll be granted the privilege of meeting her again." Edith smiled widely at that comment.

"Edith, my darling. I love you, with my whole heart. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Bertie looked at Edith and the second that followed his proposal seemed to last an hour. His heart was beating in his throat and he only hoped he had sufficiently conveyed his love and wish to spend his life with her.

Edith hadn't been able to keep her eyes off him since the proposal. Within an instant, she felt her face erupt in a smile as she quietly responded "Yes, I will".


	2. Chapter 2 - Walking Her Home

**Chapter 2**

Bertie felt his face erupt into a smile wider than he'd ever experienced in his whole life. His heart was beating so fiercely he wasn't sure he would be able to contain it in his chest.

Edith had accepted him, at last!

All he wanted to do was push the table aside and take Edith into his arms and never let her go. But he had enough sense to control himself. He gazed at his wife-to-be. She was smiling back at him with equal fervor. Bertie looked at her smile and found himself struck speechless; in awe at her beauty.

Edith noticed the surprised look on Bertie's face "You look surprised, Bertie. What is it?"

Bertie smiled and took a breath. "My darling, I have never seen you smile like this. It's reaching _every_ corner of your face. I am floored by how _lovely_ you are."

Edith blushed as she responded. "I am happy!" She said, with a knowing smile. "It's as simple as that really" She took a minute to put together her next thought "Bertie, I truly thought I would never set eyes on you again. I'd resigned myself to that fact and was busy making plans to go it alone, so to speak. And here we are. Not only are we engaged, but you know about Marigold at last and you accept her and me." Edith felt herself smiling like a schoolgirl, but she couldn't help it. "I never thought I would ever feel this _light_ and _free_ "

Bertie's heart swelled with pride to hear her speak about her happiness so openly. He couldn't seem to wipe the giant smile from his face. He felt silly but didn't care. "I'm so delighted to hear it. I love you so much and can't wait to marry you. And I vow to love your daughter as if she were my own child." Edith grinned even wider and felt overcome by her love for this wonderful man. Bertie continued "Well! Shall we talk about next steps?"

Bertie saw Edith steal a glance over his right shoulder as she immediately replied "That would be lovely. But first, I think perhaps we should order. The waiter keeps looking over here, I assume wondering if and when he should come back over to us."

"Aah yes. Good idea" Bertie replied.

Bertie could barely control his excitement long enough to read the menu and pick a dinner option, but he managed to complete the task without too much flare. As they waited for their courses, they managed to keep the conversation light and jovial, related to the restaurant and the food, their family and London. Bertie was thrilled at how easily he and Edith slipped back into the rhythm of their relationship again. Once they were well into their main course, he revisited the topic of planning next steps. He was eager to be married to her, for so many reasons. But most importantly, he had already wasted enough time being apart. There would be no more of that.

"So! Next steps. You said you're here for three days. I assume you have already booked your train back to Yorkshire?"

"Yes! Indeed, I have several morning meetings with the magazine tomorrow and Thursday and I'm on the Thursday afternoon train."

Bertie nodded and continued "I'm on the train back to Northumberland on Thursday at 5pm. I wonder if I can persuade you to let me change your ticket and book you on my train so you can come back with me directly to Brancaster."

Edith smiled in surprise. Bertie was once again in awe of her. How could she look so surprised, still. Bertie reflected on how indoctrinated Edith's cracks in her self-worth were. How much of it was Mary's fault, and how much was from how life had beaten her about, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, he was determined to make her feel as loved and important as he possibly could. He was about to speak again when Edith spoke:

"You'd like me to come with you to Brancaster? On Thursday?"

Bertie looked at her and responded in a comforting tone "Of course I do. Now that we are reunited, the idea of separating again, even temporarily in two days time is unacceptable to me. Let's move forward with announcing the engagement and planning our future together straight away. Besides, it will be your home as well, soon enough. How does that sound to you?"

Bertie loved that Edith couldn't seem to stop smiling "I would love that very much."

The rest of the dinner was spent discussing details, Bertie would fix the train tickets, Edith would go to work and they would meet for lunch in the afternoon at Rules and spend the rest of the day together.

As they headed toward the exit of the Ritz, Bertie asked "May I escort you home? Are you staying at your flat or with your aunt while here in London?"

"I would like very much for you to walk me home." Edith smiled at Bertie in such a way that sent a shiver down his spine. She continued "And I'm staying at my flat. I've been staying there more and more recently, actually." Edith looked like she was contemplating saying more but decided against it. Bertie didn't press her on it. He was beyond elated that this evening had been so successful, but he had learned his lesson about pressing her. He had no right to demand he receive her trust. Trust was earned, and he would endeavor to earn it and be worthy of her. If she had more to tell him, she would do it in her own time.

As they stood in the foyer and a member of the staff handed him his coat while another helped Edith on with hers, he extended his arm for Edith and they walked out of the restaurant together. They were only a few blocks from her flat but neither of them were walking very fast, simply enjoying being so physically close to each other. The second they were around the corner, Bertie felt his entire body overcome with heat at being so near to Edith. He stopped in his tracks, took his hat off, turned to her and kissed her, infusing it with considerably more passion than he'd done with any of their previous kisses. He could tell that Edith was taken aback by the sudden surge of passion directed at her, but Bertie felt her respond within an instant. He had his arms wrapped around the small of her back and he felt her wrap her small hand around his upper forearm near his elbow, very subtly pulling him closer to her.

Bertie broke the kiss but kept his face very close to hers. "I'm sorry, my darling. I simply couldn't wait another moment." Edith only smiled and look back at him. Bertie continued, "I can't believe it's been six weeks since our last kiss. Let's never let it go so long between kisses again" Bertie smiled at Edith, raising one eyebrow, and looking at her in a way that reminded Edith of his unique ability to be jovial and unbelievably attractive all in one fell swoop. Bertie was pleased that she kept her arm firmly locked in his for the rest of the walk to her flat.

As they continued, Edith would occasionally tilt her head and rest it on his upper arm which sent a thrill through Bertie, making it much more difficult for him to regain his composure. He knew he ought to be concerned that simply walking down the street with this woman caused him to feel that thrilled with excitement, but he simply didn't care. He loved Edith, and she loved him and this was the first day of their official engagement. Nothing would dampen the wondrous renewed feeling.

When they arrived at Edith's front door, he wanted to ensure she didn't feel uncomfortable. It was quite late and she might be hesitating about inviting him in for a nightcap at such an hour, however he still had one important task he had to accomplish before the night was through. It was imperative that it happened that night.

"Edith, it's quite late, so I won't stay long, but I was wondering if I might come in for a moment to discuss one last thing with you."

Edith smiled unreservedly and responded "Of course! You are my fiancé now, it's no longer so risqué for you to come in for a nightcap"

They both entered the flat, and Edith proceeded to put down her keys, take her evening gloves off and place the items on top of her piano. Bertie could see she was about to head over to the bar, to pour them both a drink, so he wasted no time and proceeded to meet her in front of the piano before she could do anything else.

"I'm delighted to see you have removed your gloves, because now I can give you this-" Bertie reached into his inner coat pocket and retrieved a small red velvet jewellery box. Edith looked completely breathless, put her right hand on her chest and turned her gaze from the box to Bertie's face.

Bertie opened the box, revealing a stunning yellow gold diamond ring. It was elegant, and magnanimous while still being simple and timeless in its beauty, just like his Edith. Bertie removed the ring and took Edith's left hand into his own.

"Edith, my darling. I've been carrying around this ring for ages, and it fills me with such pride and pleasure to finally be able to give it to you."

Bertie proceeded to slip the ring onto her finger, grateful for his luck that the ring was a perfect fit. He kept ahold of her hand and transferred his eyes over to her face. She was smiling, but there was something amiss in her eyes that gave Bertie cause for concern.

"This ring is a family heirloom that I thought would suit you well, but my darling – if you don't like it, I am just as happy to buy you a new ring, if you prefer-"

Edith stopped him by raising her right hand and cupping Bertie's face. Somehow, despite all their previous kisses, this felt like the most intimate moment that the two had yet experienced, and Bertie stopped talking immediately.

"I love this ring. I love it because it is a gift from you that you chose for me. I love it because it symbolizes my love and devotion to you as well. That I _belong_ to you." Bertie saw a tear forming behind her eyes and he knew there was still more to come. Edith moved her hand from his face down to rest on his chest. This sent his heart rate racing and made him want to touch her far more than he currently was. However, he could see she was about to share something personal, so he waited patiently for her to speak.

"I can't help still feeling concerned though, Bertie. You know about Marigold, and I'm so delighted. And I will tell you the whole story about her tomorrow, I promise you." Edith hesitated… she seemed so nervous, and Bertie immediately felt so protective of both her and Marigold. Whoever had done this, and made Edith feel such fear would never be permitted to do so again. Not now that he was around, he thought. However, Bertie wouldn't make presumptions about her next comment, he would wait and give her the space she needed to get there.

"What if…" She hesitated "What if you hear the whole story and you change your mind about marrying me?" She looked like she was struggling not to succumb to tears and Bertie hated that. She was still so stressed. "I mean, it's such a risk for you, I would hate to think you'll regret this decision, later on-"

Bertie wrapped his arm around Edith's waist and pulled her closer to him. "Edith, my darling. There is nothing you can say that will change my mind about you. _Nothing_. Not now, or ever. Your relationship with Michael Gregson, how Marigold came to be, none of the detail about any of that will make any difference in how I feel about you." Edith raised her eyes to meet Bertie's, and he could see the fear draining out of her face. "Edith – the only way you and I won't marry is if you say you don't _want_ me."

And with that, Edith erupted with joy and threw herself into his arms into a tight embrace. Edith had both arms around Bertie's neck while he kept one hand at the small of her back and brought the other up to the nape of her neck, firmly holding onto her. Edith responded by tucking her face into his neck and breathing in the scent of his skin. After the natural moment to break the embrace came, Bertie only proceeded to tighten his hold on her. Edith heard him say "I hope you don't mind – I'm just going to keep you in my arms for a moment longer"

Bertie felt Edith slowly pull her face back until her lips were directly next to his ear. She then gently whispered to him "You can hold me in your arms for as long as you like".

There was something about the conviction in her tone and feeling her lips lightly brush against his skin that made Bertie feel that there was nothing more important than his putting his lips on her, right then and there. He proceeded to gently and slowly kiss her on the neck, which he could feel sent a shiver down her spine. He kept his face buried in her neck for a prolonged moment and then pulled back to face her and planted his lips on hers, again slowly but firmly. Within an instant, the kiss was the most passionate thing either had ever experienced. Bertie held the kiss, burying his fingers in her hair. He gently parted her lips and slipped his tongue into Edith's mouth. He felt Edith move her right hand to the back of his own head and run her fingers into his hair, while her other arm remained draped across both of his shoulders. The kiss continued in a way that surprised both of them. They both simultaneously realized that the passion they felt for each other was more than reciprocated by the other. The kiss broke naturally and very slowly, with Bertie keeping his face as close to Edith's as possible. Edith moved her right hand around from the back of his head around his neck and back onto his chest. Edith was smiling at him as she slowly pulled back from Bertie. Bertie smiled back at her and said, in barely above a whisper, "Goodnight, my darling. Until tomorrow".


End file.
